Memphis Tigers women end nonconference play with 109-68 win over Wright State

Marlon W. Morgan

6:00 PM, Jan 5, 2013

There have been plenty of times in University of Memphis coach Melissa McFerrin's previous four seasons when the Tigers struggled to scored 100 points in a week.

So she undoubtedly was pleased when her squad topped 100 points for the first time in her tenure Saturday afternoon in a 109-68 win over Wright State at Elma Roane Fieldhouse. But what has led the Tigers to three straight 20-win seasons has been defense and rebounding and those are two areas McFerrin wants to see vastly improved as the Tigers get ready to begin Conference USA play on Thursday.

"I was very disappointed with our defense in the first half," McFerrin said. "That's two games in a row I've had to, as I tell my players, lose my mind in the first half, defensively. We just have to understand that sort of defense against better teams in Conference USA are a recipe to get beat. We're trying to guard against that. We've had a lot of young players and a lot of new players that don't yet know what Conference USA looks like, so I'm trying to drive the point home every opportunity I have."

Scoring came with ease for the Tigers (9-5) in their final nonconference game. They shot 51 percent in the first half, led by senior forward Nicole Dickson, who had 24 of her game-high 34 points in the half.

But they led 53-44 after allowing the Raiders (6-7) to shoot 48 percent, including 8 of 13 from 3-point range.

After a good talking-to in the locker room, the Tigers put Wright State away early. A 16-0 run, in which the U of M held the Raiders scoreless for nearly four minutes, gave them a 75-48 cushion. From there, not even a 10-minute fire alarm delay could slow the Tigers.

In addition to the scoring, the Tigers held Wright State to 26.5-percent shooting in the second half, 2 of 11 from 3-point range. They also out-rebounded the Raiders, 51-30.

The win was their sixth straight. It was the first time they had scored 100 points since beating Arkansas State, 101-86, on March 19, 1999.

For Dickson, it was her fourth career 30-point game, and second this season behind her career-high 36 at Illinois State. She also had eight rebounds. Ariel Hearn chipped in with 14 points and eight assists and Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir had 11 points."We can't outscore people every game so we do have to rely on defense," Dickson said. "It's just something we have to keep working on and keep going hard at in practice. We start conference play on Thursday and between now and then we just have to step up the intensity in practice."

The Tigers open C-USA play at Houston on Thursday before playing their league home opener Sunday against Southern Miss at FedExForum.

"I'm going to chalk it up to being a little bit naive about who we're about to play and the mission we're about to undertake," McFerrin said. "We have to continue to get better."